Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that there’s an historic fight happening this Saturday.

Heck, you don’t even have to be an MMA fan to know about it. In the world of pop culture and 24/7 media, the UFC 157 main event between Ronda Rousey (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Liz Carmouche (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is what’s known as a “talker.”

Yes, the first women’s fight in UFC history has been hyped up for more than three months now. And yes, it’s getting a full-on massive promotional push. But UFC President Dana White, who has been one of Rousey’s biggest cheerleaders – even after saying for years he didn’t see a day that women would fight in the UFC – believes he knows the reason the pay-per-view at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., is a big deal when it comes to his women’s bantamweight champion.

“The media is following her because she’s legit – she’s the real deal,” White said this past Saturday following the post-event news conference for UFC on FUEL TV 7 in London. “She’s a world-class athlete who won an Olympic medal. How do you not respect that? How do you not respect someone who’s been training since they were 6 years old and medaled in the Olympics, and has worked as hard as she has to round out her game as a martial artist, too?”

Rousey, a Olympic bronze medal winner in judo at the 2008 games, has one weapon that opponents and fans should see coming a mile away, and that’s her armbar. It’s how she famously has finished every opponent, all in the first round, both as an amateur and through six wins as a pro. If Carmouche sees the second round on Saturday, she’ll already be making history of her own, at least when it comes to Rousey.

But White said he believes Rousey is rounding out her game to include a lot more than just a textbook judo throw and textbook armbar.

“Everybody was talking about her hands two years ago,” White said. “Look at her f—ing hands now. I know things you guys don’t know about her and what she’s doing as far as her hands go. I’d love to see guys go spar with her. She’d knock someone’s f—ing head right off, and would love doing it. She is tough, she is mean, and she is f—ing nasty. She’s f—iing mean, man. She’s a tough chick.”

White said that goes for Carmouche, too, not just Rousey – who is a 12-to-1 favorite in the fight. Carmouche is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins under the Invicta banner and knows what it’s like to fight for a title, as well.

She lost a title fight to Marloes Coenen nearly two years ago, finally tapping in the fourth round to a triangle choke.

“I’ve heard some flak about the girls,” White said. “But their mitt work is better than half the f—king guys. Their hands are great, they’re well-rounded, they represent the sport well, they represent themselves well. I couldn’t be happier that I made the decision and I couldn’t be happier with this fight.”

The women may be headlining, but the rest of the main card features a fairly solid lineup that has the UFC boss stoked, too. A key light heavyweight fight between Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) serves as the co-main event, while former featherweight champion Urijah Faber (26-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) returns to fight Ivan Menjivar (25-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Plus, Robbie Lawler (19-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) returns to the promotion to meet Josh Koscheck (17-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) to open the pay-per-view.

“I’m obviously excited for that (Rousey-Carmouche) fight, but I’m excited for the whole card,” White said. “The whole card is a great card.”

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